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THE    RIGHT   SIDE    OF   THE    CAR 


THE  RIGHT  SIDE  OF 
THE  CAR 


BY 


THE  AUTHOR  OF  ETTDORHPA 


(JOHN    URI    LLOYD) 


BOSTON 

RIC7HARD   G.    BADGER    &   COMPANY 

Jon  ei  wqole  nsxo-ft  e'jsmooBT  no  301 
u  aril    ;  afttb  sot  larilo  moil 
i§i-ft  eirfj    rflsanad    nodBmiol    oirtsolov 
inuoM  3vol  I  ob  aearij  idl  JoVl      .^looi  ^Ino  ai 
hig  3§ftBt}8  aHl  ~io   a^lse   arfj  loi   Jud  ,jsmo^BT 
moriw    lot  isrf   lo   ^sioBe    ei  ^lomsm  aaorfw 
.jndmunom  IBJB^O  B  ebnBJg  BmoofiT  inooM 


The  ice  oft  Tacoma' s  fix 
different  from  other  ice  cliffs  ;  the  upheaved 
volcanic  formation  beneath  this  frigid  cloak 
is  only  rock.  Not  for  these  do  I  love  Mount 
Tacoma,  but  for  the  sake  of  the  strange  girl 
whose  memory  is  sacred*  of  her  for  whom 
Mount  Tacoma  stands  a  crystal  monument. 


THE  RIGHT  SIDE  OF 
THE  CAR 


BY 


THE  AUTHOR  OF  ETIDORHPA 

(JOHN  URI  LLOYD) 


iDEARTEET* 
iVERITATE 


BOSTON 
RICHARD    G.   BADGER    &    COMPANY 

M  DCCC  XCVII 


COPYRIGHT,  1897 
Bv  JOHN  URI  LLOYD,  CINCINNATI,  O. 


(All  rights  reserved) 


TO  MY  WIFE 


The  illustrations  are  by  Mr.  J.  Augus- 
tus Knapp ;  the  cover  design  by  Mr. 
Theodore  Brown  Hapgood,  Jr. 


XVlll 


List  of  Illustrations 

"  THE  ICE  ON  MOUNT  TACOMA  "    Frontispiece 

"I  RETURNED  TO  MY  BROODING"  .  Page  28 
"SATURATED  WITH  BRIGHTNESS"  .  .  37 
"I  SAW  BEFORE  MY  EYES  "  ....  5! 


Preface. 

THIS  sketch,  designed  as  a  slight 
tribute  to  womanhood,  was  written 
for  one  who  takes  on  herself  many 
cares  that  the  author's  shoulders 
should  bear,  and  whose  full  praises 
can  be  sung  only  when  words  as  yet 
unframed  are  put  in  print. 

Fashioned  for  her  alone,  it  came 
through  accident  before  others,  and 
in  momentary  indiscretion  was  read 
to  the  Cincinnati  Woman's  Club. 
Let  him  hope  that  in  dress,  at  least, 
it  may  credit  those  who  honored 
him  by  listening  on  that  occasion, 
and  who,  indeed,  are  somewhat  re- 
sponsible for  its  present  publication. 


Preface. 

Yet  the  author  seeks  not  to  evade 
the  blame,  if  any  such  be  attached 
to  this  desire  to  please  his  friends. 
He  must,  perhaps,  seek  forgiveness 
from  her  who  sat  in  the  sunlight, 
who  unconsciously  inspired  these 
lines,  and  who,  now  looking  up- 
ward, sees  always  before  her  glad 
eyes  those  snow-capped  scenes  in 
the  lovely  land  of  the  Sierras 
before  whose  beauty  imagination 
pales. 

Would  that  her  face,  which  the 
author  dare  not  venture  to  picture, 
might  grace  these  pages  ;  but  it  must 
remain  unseen.  Let  the  story  of 
contrasts  that  spelled  this  pen  sug- 
gest the  vision  that  vanished  in  the 
sunshine  of  a  lost  summer. 


Preface. 

Should  this  offering  to  innocence 
and  purity,  this  token  to  the  maiden 
and  the  wife,  leave  the  reader  crav- 
ing yet  another  sentence,  seeking 
yet  another  thought-step  upward, 
the  aim  of  the  author  will  have  been 
accomplished. 

J.  U.  L. 


The 
Right   Side   of  the    Car.1 

9 

ood  fortune  I  had 
been  invited  to  ac- 
company a  person- 
ally  conducted 
excursion  party  of 
physicians,  happy 
mortals  who,  with 
their  wives  as  companions,  gladly 
looked  forward  to  the  pleasure  of  a 
trip  across  the  continent  in  a  special 
car.  I  was  the  only  man  among  them 
who  was  not  a  physician,  and,  after 
having  accepted  their  generous  in- 
vitation, I  alone  of  all  that  happy 
party  looked  backward.  Homesick 

1  A  story  of  the  Northern  Pacific  Railway. 
25 


The  Right  Side  of  the  Car. 

before  the  first  wheel  turned,  the 
"  blues "  possessed  me  entirely  by 
the  end  of  the  first  hour  ;  and,  dom- 
inated by  disagreeable  thoughts,  I 
threw  myself  into  a  corner  of  the 
parlor  section,  where,  with  a  copy  of 
Solomon's  proverbs,  as  best  fitted  to 
my  unsociable  temperament,  I  was 
left  alone  by  my  considerate  friends. 
Naturally,  under  the  circumstances, 
meditation  and  seclusion  made  me 
sulkier  still. 

In  the  course  of  our  journey  a 
telegram  was  brought  to  our  director. 
It  came  from  a  physician  who,  know- 
ing of  our  excursion,  asked  if  we 
would  escort  a  Miss  Myrtle  to  her 
home  on  the  western  coas?,  a  request 
which  was  willingly  granted.  The 
ladies  of  our  party  playfully  decided 

that,  since  I  travelled  alone,  it  should 

• 

be  my  duty  to  serve  as  the  young 
26 


"I  returnecf   to   li^^ooding,    a    prey  to 
abnormal  reflections." 


The  Right  Side  of  the  Car. 

before  the  first  wheel  turned,  the 
"  blues "  possessed  me  entirely  by 
the  end  of  the  first  hour  ;  and,  dom- 
inated by  disagreeable  thoughts,  I 
threw  myself  into  a  corner  of  the 
parlor  section,  where,  with  a  copy  of 
Solomon's  proverbs,  as  best  fitted  to 
my  unsociable  temperament,  I  was 
left  alone  by  my  considerate  friends. 
Naturally,  under  the  circumstances, 
meditation  and  seclusion  made  me 
sulkier  still. 

In  the  course  of  our  journey  a 
telegram  was  brought  to  our  director. 
It  came  from  a  physician  who,  know- 
ing of  our  excursion,  asked  if  we 
would  escort  a  Miss  Myrtle  to  her 
home  on  the  western  coasr,  a  request 
.  which  was  willingly  granted.  The 
ladies  of  pur  party  playfully  decided 
that,  since  I  travelled  alone,  it  should 

ol  vpiq    B    .snibpcnd    ym   oJ^bamujai  I»» 

mVaauty  ur  serve  as  the  young 

.enortosRai  [BrmondB 


The  Right  Side  of  the  Car. 

girl's  special  attendant.  This  func- 
tion I  did  not  decline,  though  in 
truth,  I  was  too  absent-minded  to 
take  much  interest  in  the  matter, 
or  even  to  notice  the  good-natured 
remarks  of  my  fellow  tourists.  I 
returned  to  my  brooding,  a  prey  to 
abnormal  reflections. 

When  I   arose  late  the  following 

o 

morning  and  parted  the  curtains  in 
front  of  my  berth,  I  caught  a  glimpse 
of  a  feminine  outline  in  the  section 
opposite  mine,  and  at  once  it  flashed 
upon  me  that  here  was  the  charge  I 
had  almost  unconsciously  accepted. 
Somewhat  vexed,  I  glanced  indiffer- 
ently at  the  face  of  the  girl  who  had 
come  to  disturb  my  thoughts,  when 
suddenly  my  unconcern  gave  way  to 
curiosity.  Her  countenance  was  of 
that  peculiar  cast  which  only  once 
or  twice  in  a  lifetime  surprises  one's 
31 


The  Right  Side  of  the  Car. 

vision,  telling  as  it  does  of  experi- 
ence, of  soul  development  and  intel- 
lectual attainment,  though  not  of 
years.  She  may  have  been  under 
fifteen,  she  may  have  been  over 
twenty.  Her  full  countenance  was 
turned  away,  but  even  from  the  pro- 
file view  I  saw  enough  to  enable  me 
to  guess  of  her  past  and  to  read 
something  of  her  future.  The  maid- 
en was  surely  treading  rapidly  the 
path  that  leads  to  silence.  Although 
I  sat  out  of  the  range  of  her  vision, 
my  steady,  earnest  gaze  drew  the 
girl's  attention ;  for  a  moment  she 
glanced  at  me,  smiled  pleasantly, 
and  then  turned  back  again,  looking 
diagonally  through  the  window  into 
the  northwest.  That  sudden  face- 
flash  was  to  my  gloom  as  the  glitter 
of  a  mirror  that  reflects  into  a  shad- 
owed crevice  or  deep  grotto  a  sliver 
32 


The  Right  Side  of  the  Car. 

of  sunshine  which  could  never  have 
fallen  directly  into  its  depths.  The 
girl's  native  gladness,  expressed  in  a 
single  kindly  glance,  had  soothed 
my  heart-throbs.  Silently  I  thanked 
her  —  I,  who  a  moment  before  con- 
sidered her  presence  an  infliction. 

As  the  hours  of  that  day  passed, 
my  accidental  ward  sat  strangely 
absorbed  in  reverie,  gazing  ever  into 
the  northwest,  and  scarcely  turning 
her  head  towards  the  others  in  the 
car.  Even  when  addressed  by  one 
or  another  she  answered  dreamily, 
and  seemed  to  be  indifferent  to  their 
presence.  It  was  saddening  to  see 
one  so  young  and  so  fair  thus  clos- 
eting herself  in  unapproachable  pri- 
vacy, —  a  privilege,  we  are  wont  to 
think,  of  those  whom  age  or  long 
experience  of  sorrow  consign  to  pes- 
simistic gloom.  The  noisy  party 
3  33 


The  Right  Side  of  the  Car. 

surrounding  us,  revelling  in  mirth, 
did  not  interrupt  this  strange  child's 
reverie,  nor,  indeed,  did  they  dis- 
turb me ;  insensible  to  their  happi- 
ness and  to  the  varying  charms  of 
the  flying  landscape,  I  sat  moodily 
in  my  own  section.  At  last,  by 
common  consent,  we  two  were  left 
unheeded,  —  she  alone  in  her  sweet- 
ness, I  in  my  acidity ;  but  it  made 
me  glad  to  be  in  the  car  with  this 
bright  face. 

Late  in  the  afternoon  the  declin- 
ing sun  shone  fiercely  into  that 
opposite  section  of  the  car ;  it  was 
reflected  with  double  heat  across  the 
arid  plains  that  edge  the  great  desert. 
Leaning  towards  the  pale,  listless 
maiden,  I  ventured  to  address  her. 
"  Will  you  not  sit  on  the  shady  side 
of  .the  car?" 

She  turned  her  face  to  me  and 
34 


The  Right  Side  of  the  Car. 

answered,  "  I  do  not  dislike  the  sun- 
shine. This  is  the  right  side  of  the 
car  for  me."  Then  she  turned  again 
towards  the  northwest,  and  in  the 
full  glare  of  the  sun  continued  gaz- 
ing into  the  distance. 

An  annoying  titter  from  some  one 
who  had  observed  my  attempted 
advances  reached  my  ear ;  by  her  it 
was  unnoticed. 

A  waggish  friend  leaned  over  and 
whispered,  "  How  is  your  charge  ?  " 

"  Do  not  disturb  me,"  I  replied. 
"  Can  you  not  see  that  this  girl  is 
not  of  your  merry  party,  and  that 
I  am  an  unsocial  guest?  Leave 
me  to  myself,  and  do  not  annoy 
the  girl."  After  this  uncalled-for, 
petulant  rebuke,  I  slunk  back  to 
the  hermitage  of  my  window-cur- 
tained alcove  with  freshly  homesick 
feelings. 

35 


The  Right  Side  of  the  Car. 

I  sat  in  the  shade,  penetrated  by 
the  shadows,  while  on  the  other  side 
of  the  car,  saturated  with  brightness, 
unconscious  of  her  beauty  as  is  the 
drooping  lily-of-the-valley,  the  girl 
shone  in  the  sunlight.  I  watched 
her  as  a  crusty  botanist  might  study 
the  charms  of  a  morning-glory 
shrinking  in  the  zenith  of  its  loveli- 
ness. Would  that  I  could  describe 
her  face  !  She  was  not  what  men 
call  beautiful,  yet  the  features  were 
of  extreme  delicacy  and  refinement. 
The  thin  lips  of  wax-like  translu- 
cence,  the  flushed  cheek  with  its 
central  spot,  seemingly  of  artificial 
crimson,  the  great  eyes  so  touching- 
ingly  attractive,  —  all  helped  to  tell 
the  story  of  a  life  worn  prematurely 
near  to  its  close,  of  an  unsullied 
soul  stepping  out  of  earth-light  into 
God-light. 

36 


"  Saturated^vith  brightness,  unconscious  of 
her  beauty  as  is  the  drooping  lily-of-the-valley, 
the  girl  shone  in  the  sunlight." 


The  Right  Side  of  the  Car. 


1  sat  in  the  shade,  penetrated  by 
the  shadows,  while  on  the  other  side 
of  the  car,  saturated  with  brightness, 
unconscious  of  her  beauty  as  is  the 
drooping  lily-of-the-valley,  the  gir) 
shone  in  the  sunlight.  I  watched 
her  as  a  crusty  botanist  might  study 
the  charms  of  a  morning-glory 
shrinking  in  the  zenith  of  its  loveli- 
ness. Would  that  I  could  describe 
her  face  !  She  was  not  what  men 
call  beautiful,  yet  the  features  were 
of  extreme  delicacy  and  refinement. 
The  thin  lips  of  wax-like  translu- 
cence,  the  flushed  cheek  with  its 
central  spot,  seemingly  of  artificial 
crimson,  the  great  eyes  so  touching- 
ingly  attractive,  —  all  helped  to  tell 
the  story  of  a  Jife  worn  prematurely 
near  to  its  close,  of  an  unsullied 
soul  stepping  out  of  earth-light  into 
God-light. 

'io  gjjoioenooni/  jgeanjHghdjSjiw  bsJBiimS  » » 
,-p{lBV-3rfj-lo-yIiI  §niqooib  arfj  ei  KB  yjusad  isH 
srfa  ni  anorfg  hr§  arh 


The  Right  Side  of  the  Car. 

As  an  earth-born  orchid  is  not 
earth-bound,  but  sends  its  feeler 
into  space  above ;  so  this  human 
creature  of  mortal  mould,  feebly 
clinging  to  things  below,  appeared 
to  be  reaching  up  into  ethereal 
realms. 

An  indescribable  sensation  of 
mingled  joy  and  sorrow  came  over 
me  as  I  watched  the  peaceful  face 
of  the  young  girl,  and  thought  how 
unconsciously  she  was  standing  at 
the  very  edge  of  eternity.  In  this 
mood  the  shadows  of  night  found 
me,  still  wrapped  in  gloom,  yet 
vaguely  happy.  On  the  maiden's 
brow  I  saw  fall  the  last  ray  of  the 
sun,  but  not  the  darkling  shadows ; 
for  before  the  sunbeam  vanished  I 
averted  my  eyes. 

When,  next  morning,  I  parted 
the  curtains  of  my  berth,  I  beheld 
41 


The  Right  Side  of  the  Car. 

the  trim,  girlish  figure  seated  as 
before  in  the  opposite  section  of  the 
coach.  I  observed  also  that  the 
serene  face  was  still  turned  intently 
towards  the  northwest.  Before  go- 
ing to  breakfast,  I  stepped  to  her 
side,  and  said,  "  May  I  escort  you 
to  the  dining-car  ?  " 

"  Thank  you,  I  breakfasted  at 
the  first  call,"  was  the  reply. 

"  Then  I  will  offer  to  attend  you 
to  lunch  when  the  noon  hour  comes. 
You  have  been  placed  in  my  charge, 
and,"  I  added  apologetically,  "  I  am 
old  enough  to  be  your  father." 

"With  pleasure,"  she  answered, 
and  I  threw  a  triumphant  look  at 
my  teasing  fellow-travellers. 

The  day  passed  like  the  day  be- 
fore, —  the  fair  invalid  silent  in  her 
place,  I  morose  in  mine.  Like  a 
crab  peeping  from  beneath  a  stone 
42 


The  Right  Side  of  the  Car. 

at  a  butterfly  resting  in  the  sunshine, 
I  gazed  at  her  who  gave  no  heed  to 
any  one.  With  book  neglected  at 
her  side,  and  lost  in  her  meditations, 
she  peered  unceasingly  through  the 
window. 

When  in  the  afternoon  the  sun 
again  shone  upon  her,  I  once  more 
offered  my  place  on  the  shady 
side,  and  she  replied  as  before : 
"  Thanks,  but  this  is  the  right  side 
of  the  car  for  me." 

We  had  long  since  passed  the 
Minnesota  and  eastern  Dakota  fields 
and  meadows  ;  we  had  swept  through 
the  grotesque  Bad- Lands  of  western 
Dakota,  and  crept  over  the  arid 
plains  beyond.  We  had  moved  up 
the  picturesque  valley  of  the  Yellow- 
stone, where  for  three  hundred  miles, 
valley,  river,  and  hill  form  the  most 
enchanting  scenes.  Day  and  night 
43 


The  Right  Side  of  the  Car. 

came  and  went ;  we  passed  moun- 
tain-gulches and  canyons,  rivers, 
plains  and  mountains,  to  shoot  at 
last  into  the  great  fierce  desert  of 
desolation  that  separates  the  Cascade 
Range  from  the  Rocky  chain.  One 
of  my  companions  finally  ventured 
to  address  me  again  concerning  the 
girl  who  sat  opposite. 

"  For  what  is  your  charge  look- 
ing?" 

"  Be  quiet,"  I  whispered.  "  Can't 
you  see  that  she  is  leaning  over  the 
verge  of  eternity  and  looking  into 
Heaven  ?  "  I  felt  the  bitterness  of 
my  speech  soon  enough  to  arrest 
my  voice,  and  thus  the  finishing 
sentence  —  "  Neither  you  nor  I 
know  what  such  as  she  can  see  "  — 
was  unspoken. 

But  the  question  nettled  me. 
Why  should  not  I,  in  whose  charge 
44 


The  Right  Side  of  the  Car. 

the  girl  had  been  placed,  be  told  the 
reason  of  that  persistent  skyward 
gaze  ?  With  this  thought  in  mind, 
I  moved  over  to  the  seat  beside  her 
—  an  act  which  I  had  not  presumed 
to  venture  on  before  —  and  abruptly 
said :  — 

"  Tell  me  why  you  gaze  so  stead- 
ily through  the  window." 

"  I  am  looking  for  my  home." 

Her  quick  answer  chimed  so  un- 
expectedly with  the  rhythm  of  my 
thoughts  as  to  startle  me.  Did  she 
realize  that  her  fatal  disease  would 
soon  take  her  to  another  home  ? 
And  was  she  really  looking  into  its 
windows  ? 

"  But  we  have  travelled  more 
than  a  thousand  miles  since  you 
commenced  your  curious  watch. 
How  can  you  see  your  home 
through  mountain-chains  and  sand- 
45 


The  Right  Side  of  the  Car. 

hills,  from  the  bottom  of  canyons 
and  the  winding  bed  of  rivers, 
through  desert  dust-clouds  that 
cover  the  way  and  blot  out  the 
landscape  ? " 

"  Ah,"  she  said,  "  I  think  of  my 
home  at  times  like  these,  and  am 
looking  for  it  now.  I  live  at  the 
base  of  Mount  Tacoma." 

"  Mount  Rainier,  you  mean,"  I 
interrupted. 

"  No,  not  Rainier ; "  and  as  she 
spoke  these  words  she  flushed,  and 
turned  upon  me  a  look  of  reproach. 
"  Do  you  not  love  your  own  coun- 
try ?  "  she  continued.  "  Why  do 
you  call  that  noble  mountain,  *  the 
mother  of  mountains,'  after  an  ob- 
scure British  admiral  who  never 
saw  this  continent  ?  Shame  on  such 
Americans !  I  look  for  Tacoma. 
That  is  the  real  name,  the  Indian 
46 


The  Right  Side  of  the  Car. 

name  given  to  the  mountain  long 
before  the  British  landed  in  America. 
Tacoma,  Mount  Tacoma,  my  Ta- 
coma ! "  The  momentary  flush 
vanished,  the  pensive  gaze  returned; 
her  last  words  were  uttered  in  a 
plaintive,  caressing  tone.  She  con- 
tinued softly :  — 

"I  live  near  that  noblest  peak  of 
all  the  Cascade  range,  and  I  long 
again  to  see  it  looming  above  my 
home." 

My  question  had  touched  and 
opened  her  heart,  yet  after  a  slight 
pause,  as  if  to  excuse  herself  for 
withdrawing  from  conversation,  she 
said,  "  I  am  looking  for  my  home 
now,"  and  again  she  turned  her  face 
northwestward. 

"  But,"  I  persisted,  "  we  are  in  a 
blinding  desert.  We  must  travel 
three  hundred  miles  before  you 
47 


The  Right  Side  of  the  Car. 

reach  your  mountain.  Would  it 
not  be  better  for  you  to  join  our 
party,  to  talk  and  laugh  with  the 
young  people,  instead  of  sitting 
lonely  here  ?  " 

"  Ah,"  she  replied,  ignoring  my 
suggestion,  her  mind  dwelling  only 
on  her  beloved  mountain,  —  "  three 
hundred  miles,  did  you  say  ?  Then 
I  am  very  near  the  end  of  my  jour- 
ney. You  do  not  know  Tacoma, 
else  you  would  not  speak  so  lightly. 
Only  three  hundred  miles  from 
my  home  !  "  And  once  more  she 
turned  to  the  northwest. 

"  May  I  stay  here  beside  you  ?  " 
I  asked,  then  impulsively  added : 
"You  are  in  the  sunlight,  I  am  in 
the  shadow.  Your  home  is  before 
you,  your  thoughts  are  happy,  your 
hopes  are  radiant ;  my  home  lies  far 
behind,  and  to  me  the  shadows  ever 
48 


The  Right  Side  of  the  Car. 

lengthen.  May  I  sit  here  in  the 
sunlight  with  you  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  she  replied,  but,  un- 
conscious of  the  bitterness  covered 
by  my  words,  she  gave  me  no 
glance. 

And  so,  side  by  side,  we  passed 
into  the  depths  of  that  dreariest  of 
American  deserts,  all  sage  brush  and 
prickly  pear,  sand  and  heat ;  until  at 
last  even  the  contorted  sage  brush 
disappeared,  the  splotches  of  cactus 
vanished ;  we  had  passed  nature's 
life-line.  No  vegetation  could  thrive 
in  that  torrid  earth  ;  only  white  sand 
and  white  heat  remained. 

Then,  as  by  a  wizard's  touch,  my 
mind  closed  to  things  about  and  to 
scenes  behind ;  the  great  desert 
disappeared ;  the  white-hot  sun 
dimmed;  the  voices  of  my  com- 
panions were  silenced ;  the  rattling 
4  49 


The  Right  Side  of  the  Car. 

wheels  and  the  puffing  of  the  engine 
were  unheard  ;  the  thumping  of  the 
anguished  heart  that  never  stops 
writhing  in  pain,  that  cries  unceas- 
ingly, "  Do  not  forget,  do  not  for- 
get," was  at  last  forgotten.  Things 
material  had  passed  away,  and,  neither 
awake  nor  asleep,  I  sat  beside  the 
unsociable  girl,  she  gazing  into  the 
depths  of  space  through  one  pane 
of  glass,  I  staring  through  another. 
At  last,  at  last  in  life's  journey, 
I  rested  on  the  right  side  of  the 
car. 

How  long  this  exalted  mental 
state  continued  I  know  not.  But 
when  normal  consciousness  returned 
I  saw  before  my  eyes  on  the  distant 
horizon's  edge,  a  strange  dome- 
shaped,  cloud-like  something  that  I 
felt  was  not  a  cloud,  because  it  was 
less  substantial  even  than  a  bank  of 
5° 


"  I  saw  before  my  eyes,  on  the  distant 
horizon's  edge,  a  curious  dome-shaped,  cloud- 
like  something  that  I  felt  was  not  a  cloud, 
because  it  was  less  substantial  even  than  a 
bank  of  mist." 


The  Right  Side  of  the  Car. 

wheels  and  the  puffing  of  the  engine 
were  unheard;  the  thumping  of  the 
anguished  heart  that  never  stops 
writhing  in  pain,  that  cries  unceas- 
ingly, "  Do  not  forget,  do  not  for- 
get," was  at  last  forgotten.  Things 
material  had  passed  away,  and,  neither 
awake  nor  asleep,  I  sat  beside  the 
unsociable  girl,  she  gazing  into  the 
depths  of  space  through  one  pane 
of  glass,  I  staring  through  another. 
At  last,  at  last  in  life's  journey, 
I  rested  on  the  right  side  of  the 
car. 

How    long    this    exalted    mental 
state   continued  I  know  not.      But 
when  normal  consciousness  returned 
I  saw  before  my  eyes  on  the  distant 
horizon's    edge,    a    strange    dome- 
shaped,  cloud-like  something  that  I 
felt  was  not  a  cloud,  because  it  was 
less  substantial  even  than  a  bank  of 
JQBleib    aril    no    ,83^3    y^H)  siobd  wse   I»> 
-buob  <b3qBf{g-3rnob  at/ohm  B  <3§b3  a'nosnoxi 
tbuob  B  Jon  esw  Jbl   I   Jsrh   gnirtamoe   ajlil 
£  riBrfj  ri3V3    iBbriBJedije    eesl    esw    li 

lo 


The  Right  Side  of  the  Car. 

mist.  It  seemed  as  if  God,  having 
fashioned  a  crystal  icicle,  had  tipped 
it  with  a  drift  of  purest  snow,  and 
with  this  pencil  had  outlined  a 
gigantic  cone  on  the  white  sky,  its 
base  resting  on  the  horizon. 

But  this  was  not  all.  It  seemed 
as  if  the  great  I  AM  had  then 
grasped  the  sun's  rays,  and  sweep- 
ing them  into  glistening  strands  had 
spun  a  web  finer  than  gossamer, 
shading  the  silver  film  with  golden 
beams  of  pure  moonlight,  and  had 
thrown  this  wondrous  fabric  over 
the  mighty  arch,  enveloping  it  from 
cone-tip  to  horizon-base. 

The  heavens  above  were  white, 
the  sand  below  was  white,  and 
the  enchanting  sky-tracing  was  also 
white.  White  showed  upon  white, 
and  white  was  between  ;  three  whites 
in  one,  and  each  distinct. 
55 


The  Right  Side  of  the  Car. 

Heaven's  "huge  rondure"  flashed 
with  sunshine.  The  great  plain 
about,  from  centre  to  circumference, 
spread  dazzling  in  the  sunshine,  and 
that  wondrous  spectacle  afar,  the 
only  object  to  break  the  circle  that 
told  where  sky  and  desert  met, 
stood,  phantom-like,  the  very  spirit 
of  purity,  in  the  sunshine.  This 
dazzling  marvel  was  less  than  cloud  ; 
it  appeared  non-material ;  I  felt  that 
a  breath  of  air  might  have  swept  it 
into  space,  only  there  was  not  mo- 
tion enough  in  that  glittering  des- 
ert to  move  a  phantom.  Had  a 
silver  cloud  risen  behind  the  heav- 
enly spectre,  its  filmy  outline  would 
have  shone  through  the  ethereal 
creation  that  was  seemingly  inter- 
mediate between  imagination  and 
matter. 

Enraptured,  I  turned  to  the  girl 
56 


The  Right  Side  of  the  Car. 

beside  me,  who,  with  the  window- 
frame  between  herself  and  the  sky- 
cone,  could  not  perceive  it. 

"  Look,"  I  said.  "  See  the  mar- 
vellous wonder-cloud  that  has  risen 
above  the  horizon." 

She  leaned  towards  me,  —  even 
against  me,  —  and  shot  a  quick 
glance  through  my  window-pane. 

"Tacoma!  Tacoma  !  "  cried  the 
girl.  "  At  last,  at  last,  my  beloved 
Tacoma  !  " 

She  clasped  her  hands,  her  face 
uplifted,  and  as  tears  of  joy  fell 
from  her  eyes,  she  murmured  softly 
(only  I  could  hear  that  whisper), 
"  Tacoma,  I  'm  coming  !  —  I'm 
coming !" 

The     hands     relaxed,    the    eyes 

closed  peacefully,  as  when  a  weary 

babe  sleeps  ;    her  head  drooped  and 

rested   gently   on    my   shoulder ;    I 

57 


The  Right  Side  of  the  Car. 

sat  alone,  —  all  alone  in  that  seat  on 
the  right  side  of  the  car. 

Never  before  nor  after  could 
that  lovely  girl  have  loosened  life's 
thread  so  gracefully.  Never  be- 
fore nor  after  could  that  pure  spirit 
have  gone  into  the  colorless  be- 
yond so  peacefully.  Never  before 
could  that  life-page  have  been 
folded  in  such  purity  on  earth, 
and  never  after  could  it  have 
been  opened  in  such  loveliness  in 
heaven. 

The  ice  on  Tacoma's  frozen 
slopes  is  not  different  from  other 
ice-cliffs ;  the  upheaved  volcanic 
formation  beneath  this  frigid  cloak 
is  only  rock.  Not  for  these  do 
I  love  Tacoma,  but  for  the  sake 
of  the  strange  girl  whose  mem- 
ory is  sacred,  of  her  for  whom 
58 


The  Right  Side  of  the  Car. 

Mt.     Tacoma     stands      a      crystal 
monument. 

God  grant  that  when  at  last  I  see 
the  sky-tracings  that  speak  of  my 
Tacoma,  I  may  again  be  on  the 
"  Right  Side  of  the  Car." 


59 


PRINTED  BY  JOHN  WILSON  AND  SON 
AT  THE  UNIVERSITY  PRESS,  CAM- 
BRIDGE, FOR  RICHARD  G.  BADGER 
AND  COMPANY,  PUBLISHERS,  BOSTON 


ETIDORHPA; 

OR, 

THE    END    OF    EARTH. 

BY  JOHN   URI  LLOYD. 

With    many    Illustrations. 

Eighth  Edition. 


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prophecy  of  development.  —  The  Arena. 

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time  since,  "  The  Bookman"  says:  "There 
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and  the  singing  of  the  winds  and  waves  and 
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